Slave
by nothingtodo
Summary: Sendoh gets himself a feisty slave and faces the consequences. AU. :) Sendoh x OC.
1. Bought

A Sendoh ficcie! I don't know exactly what I'm doing, but I seem to be writing a fic for every ace from every school. *shrugs shoulders* Oh well. One a crazy girl, always a crazy girl. Anyway, this was a request from ice .. um, with some numbers at the back. Sorry! I have a terrible memory! I hope you'll like this!

            Slave trade was a popular business in the region of Horgo. It was the only trade that brought in more than half-a-million a year. The Horgo slave system, however, were slightly different.

            Only women were sold off as slaves. Another stark difference would be the fact that the power of the transferring between masters was up to the women themselves. The slaves determined the choice of new masters and the price to pay. They would receive half of the payment. 

The slaves would, of course, do what their masters wanted them to do, but should the masters cross the boundary, which was set earlier, then the slaves could – and would – physically harm them in their own personal ways.

In a way, a slave wasn't exactly a slave, but more of a property. One that could fight back and defend herself when the need approaches, but otherwise serves dutifully. The namesake was just for convenience.

            So it was that on one chilly night, Master Inando burst into a busy tavern, with a dozen or so slaves trailing behind him. "I've got wenches for sale," he yelled drunkenly. "Who wants 'em?"

            The crowd in the tavern turned their attentions on him. "Whatcha got?" someone yelled out.

            "Plenty," Master Inando grinned. "Take your pick."

            Porka had seated herself at the farthest end of the room, drowsily staring at the flickering colours in front of her eyes as one by one, the slaves paraded themselves to appreciative onlookers. She yawned once.

            "It's no wonder nobody ever buys you," her friend, Kuran slipped up beside her with a drink in hand, a free one from a generous man near the bar. She gave him a wink, which pleased him enormously and turned back her attentions to Porka. "I thought it was just because you're flat-chested, but now I know it's also because you hide yourself."

            "I'm not hiding," Porka muttered. "And I'm not flat-chested."

            Kuran smirked, giving a pointed look at Porka's chest. "Whatever you say."

            Somewhere near the centre of the room, one of the slaves, Ayashi, had just gotten herself a new master, for the price of five hundred. Porka had always hated her, and when Ayashi turned to deliver a smug look, Porka hissed in fury. 

            "Hmm," Kuran murmured. "Five hundred. Not bad."

            Porka snorted. "At least she'll be out of my face from now on. I hope her master works her to death."

            "Nah," Kuran shook the notion away. "You know Ayashi sets outrageous boundaries between her and her master. I think he's up for a bad time."

            "He's the stupid one for buying her," Porka shrugged.

            Suddenly, somebody in the room called out for Kuran. In response, Kuran stood up with a flirty smile and cooed: "I'm Kuran. Who's interested in buying me?" She located her potential new master, and squeezed Porka. "Gosh, he's cute. Bye now. I have business to attend to."

            For reasons she didn't know, Porka stared at Kuran's back sourly and with not a little jealousy. Looking down at her nonexistent assets on her chest, she fervently wished she were as busty as Kuran at the very least. Then she would be able to rake in a higher price for herself. For the moment, the highest amount offered for her had been three hundred – and three hundred seemed insultingly little to the five hundred Ayashi had gotten.

            "O chest, when wilt thou grow?" she sighed to herself, pouring in another glass of wine. "I hate Master Inando, and I want to go." She took a deep gulp, slammed the glass down and stared at the entrance wistfully, her brain conjuring imaginary pictures of herself with a chest big enough to rival Ayashi's.

             Then the flap of the entrance swung open and a tall, young man stepped in. Porka shamelessly stared at him, appreciating the view. His hairstyle was slightly peculiar, standing up high over his head like a crown. His face was finely angled, his nose sharp and shapely and his lips inviting. His eyes, however, were furious and searching, his blue corneas darting here and there across the room.

            He was, simply put, _very_ attractive, and Porka was thankful for the distraction.

            His eyes met hers and held for a moment. Porka distinctively heard her lungs screaming for oxygen as she stopped breathing. But after the brief moment passed, his eyes darted away again, uninterested and unaffected by emotions like she was.

            Porka felt a little insulted by that.

            Then his eyes narrowed sharply and he strode through the room, the crowd parting a way for him at the look on his face. He stopped in front of a visibly pale adolescent who looked amazingly like him, only more boyishly.

            _Brothers_, Porka concluded.

            The older one didn't speak, only stood straight like a soldier, staring at his younger brother with hard, agate eyes. The boy, trying to face his brother's wrath manfully, stuck out his chin. He was shaking terribly, however.

            Porka guessed that the boy was fourteen and happened to be in a place that he wasn't supposed to be in. And his brother had come to fix that.

            "Stables," the older one said dangerously. "Two months."

            The boy winced. "It's my birthday!" he yelled out defensively. "You said I could do whatever I wanted!"    

            "I didn't say you could drink yourself to insensibility."

            The man handling the bar let out a loud chuckle. "Calm yourself down, Sendoh," he chortled. "I served Aki there nothing but plain tea."

            Aki looked startled. "You said it was ale!"

            The man shrugged. "Do I look stupid enough to give you ale and have your brother after my head?? Sorry, boy." He laughed again when Aki sulked. "He's desperate to be a man, Sendoh."

            Sendoh's eyes softened a bit, and he seemed to have trouble maintaining the stern pose. He managed one last bit of scolding, though. "If you ever do this again, Aki, I'll make sure you won't live long enough to become a man."

            Aki sulked all the more. "My life is so boring!"

            The bar man sent him an amused look. "That's not our fault, boy. Hey, Sendoh, the man, Inando, here got some slaves for sale. You needing one?"

            Porka's ears perked up at that. Her excitement quickly dissolved when Sendoh shook his head. "No, I don't." He looked at Aki, and in a gesture that was meant to be a peace offering, he ruffled his brother's hair. Aki frowned at the childish gesture, and snapped: "I'm not a baby! Don't touch my hair!"

            The entire tavern burst into laughter. "He sounds just like you, Sendoh!"

            Aki looked even more furious as his brother, now in good humour, laughed along with the others. Everybody was _always_ laughing at him. It wasn't fair! "I want a slave!" he declared rebelliously.

            Sendoh raised an eyebrow. "Whatever for? You've already got three."

            "Well, I want another one! The ones at home are _old_. I want young ones."

            "And what," Sendoh asked calmly, "do you intend to do with them?"

            "I want to sleep with them!"

            There was a shocked silence, and once again, the place rocked with laughter. One man laughed really loud and yelled across the room, "He must've gotten that from you, Sendoh! He's learning fast!"

            Sendoh ignored that and looked at his brother with twinkling eyes. "And I suppose you know how to do that?"

            Aki didn't understand what was so funny. He'd only said it because it was what mature men do. "I'll learn," he said lamely, his face contorting in fury as the crowd laughed even harder. "It shouldn't be all that hard."

            Everybody was now pounding his or her fists on the table with mirth. Some were even rolling on the floor in laughter. Sendoh painfully kept a straight face. "Are you sure, Aki?" he asked gravely, even though his eyes were clearly dancing. 

            "Of course I'm sure!" Aki replied unthinkingly. "I'm always sure!"

            Sendoh made a wry face. "I wish," he murmured, and then straightened. "All right. I'll get you one. Consider it a birthday present if you like."

            Aki glowed in satisfaction. There! At last, his brother had listened and complied with his orders! He stood up and scanned the faces of the slaves who were looking eagerly at him. 

            Porka had been amused by the exchange between the siblings, and was genuinely surprised at the brimming hope that the brothers would buy her. It would be nice to be under the same roof with the elder one, she mused, although of course, the younger one, Aki, would be entertaining company. Aki was clearly a few years younger than she was, and she decided not to take his claim earlier on about sleeping with a slave seriously. For all she knew, the boy probably didn't even realise what 'sleeping' in that context suggests.

            Aki was looking at her now, and naughtily, just for the fun of it, she winked at him.  Aki blushed. He looked at his older brother who was helping himself to some cakes on the table. "That one."

            Sendoh stopped his contemplation of reaching for a cake beckoning him on the table and turned to look. His eyebrows arched. "She's young," he said flatly. "She wouldn't be any help around the house. Besides, she's flat chested."

            _That term seemed to crop up rather often nowadays_, Porka thought bitterly, controlling her temper and acting as if she hadn't heard anything.

            Aki was sulking again. "But you said I could –"

            Sendoh sighed. "Right, right." He looked at Porka. "What can you do?"

            _I can strangle people like you with amazing skill and poison your food in ways you can't even begin to think of_. "I can play instruments and sing and dance. I can do most housework, I can brew nice wine and I can do heavy jobs like carrying buckets of water and such." They were mostly lies, but Porka thought he didn't have to know it. "And I can ride a horse as well as anybody."

            Sendoh still looked dubious. However, a look from an enraged Aki changed that. "All right," he said, rather grudgingly with a slight twinge of helplessness. "Name me your price."

            "Five hundred," Porka stated firmly. "And another hundred for calling me flat chested." She smiled sweetly.

             Sendoh stared at her in disbelief. "But you _are _flat chested."

            "That doesn't change anything. Six hundred, take it or leave it."

            The look on his face was indescribable.


	2. Settling in

Second chap! Hope you'll all enjoy this as much as I did writing it! Wahahahaha! BTW, most of you commented on my character's name – Porka. *authoress turns red* Yeah, I admit it's a weird name – even now I as write it, I actually cringe and think 'what on earth made me name her that???'. But too late. But you must admit it's ORIGINAL and NON-EXISTING! Ha ha! And no, I was not inspired by anything. I just typed it out, and since it sounded pronounceable enough, I took it!

Ferohcious: You were the first one to review my Poor You Too and also the first one to review this fic. Ferohcious, you are amazing! Ha ha! (what's GYA??) I like feisty, independent and sarcastic heroines! They kick-ass! Good luck in your exams!

Silhouette Panther: Actually, the concept came to me after reading David Eddings. You read David Eddings? He's REALLY good. : ) I wouldn't say my story is all that original. *bows down in shame* #^___^#

Shirodachi: Very first SD AU you've read? Wow, you must be new. You should read Silhouette Panther's Aus – they're incredible. 

SLL: NOOOO! SLL-san! Don't be confused! Aki is NOT Akira! I just thought I'd make the names similar cuz they're brothers. Sorry if I mixed you up! Cliffhanger? Mitsui-fic? *tries to remember what she did to make sL angry* and what do you mean, 'temporarily' forgiven???

Yoriko: am continuing!

Fiery-ice: A Fujima fic? Okie-dokie! You've got yourself one story, fiery-ice. It's called 'Roger, Captain', I think. I'll be putting it up in about five minutes or so after I finish this. Hope you like it, and this as well! 

Ice1387: Hey! It's you! *dances wildly* I was afraid you weren't going to read this fic, Krista, and here you are! What do you mean you thought I wouldn't do one?? Of course I would! Us authors are here to make people happy, aren't we? ^____^ And sorry again for forgetting the numbers! Heh heh. I'm from Malaysia. You?

Kka: all right. Next time I'll use durians – those smelly, spiky King of Fruits. *devil's horns sprouts on head*

Jo-sen7: Thanks! *tries to get away from Jo-sen's pompoms. Help! I'm stuck!

Alexia: Hey, you've been reading quite a lot of my fics, aren't you? Your name's popping out on my review list everywhere! Ha ha! Thanks! Write a fic for you? Sure. Um, well, let's see. I wrote a Fujima fic for fiery-ice, and also a Maki-fic. I'll dedicate the Maki fic for you! Or if you don't like Maki, then take the Fujima fic as yours too, okay? I'm sure Fiery ice will share. : )

Tiran: Yeah, you can say a twist is coming up. Don't you just love twists?? And stop bowing! You're making me nervous! Ha ha!

Rei-142: Thanks! Am glad you like this fic!

Tensaispira: Arigato! Next chap up!

Idiotic Moron: To be truthful, it's not all that original. Read Silhouette Pather's review reply if you wanna know why. : ) You like all my OC's?? What a nice things to say! Am really happy that you think they kick ass.

Kawaii sakura-chan: OOC? Sendoh? Really? *starts sweating nervously* Forgive my error, sakura-chan!! I didn't know he was OOC! I'll try to keep him back to his original characteristics. *checks the second chapter* Emm, maybe not…

Patty g: Thanks a lot, patty! I like Porka too! Actually, I like all of my OC's. I can't help it!

Choco_no_baka: I think Aki's cute. : ) Thanks for reviewing, choco-san!

Maemi: Thanks! 

Whistling happily, Porka pocketed her share and waved at Kuran, who had refused her potential new master after finding out he had nothing else other than a shabby house and an even shabbier dog. Kuran refused to wave back, looking away in jealousy. Porka burst laughing.

"You're lucky the boy has no taste in women." Kuran had told her sourly just after the business transaction was finished, ending with a fairly dissatisfied Sendoh. "No one else would look twice at you."

"You're starting to sound like Ayashi," Porka accused her. "It's not my fault the boy happens to want young people rather than old hags like you." She laughed at the look on Kuran's face. "And it's not my fault either that he happens to have a dashing brother."

"Oh, go away!" Kuran stomped away to join Master Inando.

"On my way, on my way," Porka assured her. She walked back to where her new masters were waiting for her. She noted that Sendoh was still looking at her with an expression of one outrageously cheated of his money. "We're going back home, Porka" he informed her.

"Of course, _Master_." The smile she sent him furthermore angered him and he turned stiffly away, muttering.

She decided laughing out loud wasn't exactly the best of choices.

Aki, on the other hand, was looking at her adoringly. His big blue eyes studied her carefully and he blushed if she so much as looked back at him. Porka thought she rather liked the adorable youngster, and started to think of mischief to get into with the boy along the journey to her new home.

The mansion that they were headed for stood on land that stretched for acres and acres. Porka stared around in amazement. "What do you need all this space for?" she asked curiously. 

"Horses." Sendoh replied shortly, obviously still furious. "Running."

"Oh. Thank you, _Master_."

The way she said that word irritated him for some reason. He gritted his teeth. "Where did you come from?"

She shrugged. "I'd rather you didn't know."

He looked over his shoulder at her. "I see. So you're the only one here who can ask questions?"

She shook her head, smiling that fake sweet smile again. "Of course not, _Master_. You can ask as many as you want. You just won't get the answers, that's all."

Sendoh made strangled noises.

"Is there something wrong, _Master_?"

He didn't even bother answering her, and she laughed delightedly.

A dozen or so maids and stable boys greeted them, joined by another ten inside the mansion. Porka, who had expected no more than five, was immensely shocked and it took her a couple of days to adjust herself. They were friendly, no doubt, and welcomed her almost eagerly, but the attention given to her slightly smothered her, and Porka decided it wasn't going to be as fun as she thought it would be.

It was three days later when she burst out in rage. 

"There's nothing to do around here!" she yelled at the startled Sendoh, who dropped his pancake. "Everywhere I look, something's already done or being done or will be done by someone else!"

"Go play with Aki."

"Aki won't even talk to me!" Porka protested. "He just stares at me and blushes. I can't get a word out of him, which is rather surprising because he certainly had a lot to say back then at the tavern!"

Sendoh shrugged. "It's hardly my fault that your face bores him to utter speechlessness." 

Porka rolled her eyes. "I'm restless." She told him. "I have to keep myself preoccupied or I'll die of boredom."

"You better don't. I didn't sacrifice six hundred dollars just so you can die of something as insignificant as monotony."

"Then give me something to do!"

Sendoh stared up at heaven and wondered what he did to receive a punishment as severe as living under the same roof with an impossible slave. "You could…" he looked around for inspiration, and immediately saw his fallen half-eaten pancake, lying miserably on the floor, "…cook."

Porka frowned. "I don't know how to."

"Then learn how to."

"Who is going to teach me?" she demanded. "You? You can't even – hey! I'm not finished yet! Where are you going??"

He shrugged on his coat. "Hunting season," he answered. "I'll be back in twelve months."

"TWELVE MONTHS????"

He sighed. "It'll be thirteen months if you keep on screaming at me like that."

"But we haven't even discussed the boundaries between you and me!"

Sendoh groaned. "How tiresome. Listen, you can go discuss it with Aki. He's the one who asked for you after all."

"But you're the one who paid for me! So you're my rightful master!"

_The burden that I have to carry_, Sendoh thought briefly. "We don't need boundaries."

"Yes, we do," she told him firmly, and a little angrily. "Firstly, you cannot, in whatsoever way, touch me. That's the way it has always been with my previous masters. And secondly, you cannot creep into my bedroom demanding a bed company, because I won't stoop to that."

He looked stunned. Gradually, however, he started to laugh. "Don't jest with me, Porka," he managed in between laughter. "There's no reason I'd want to touch you or creep into your bedroom. You can rest your worries."

She should've been satisfied with that. He was agreeing to her terms and conditions after all. But somehow, Porka felt he had twisted the entire deal around until she seemed to be the one on the losing side. _What does THAT mean?? No reason to touch me?? Is he saying that I'm UGLY?? That I don't tempt him in any way AT ALL??_

"Take care of Aki," he instructed her, breezily going out and heading for his waiting horse. "I'd like him to be alive and sane at the very least when I return."

She watched him go, and quite suddenly turned on her heels and dashed for her room, bursting into tears.

*nothingtodo watches as Porka slams the door of her room and turns to readers, scratching her head* What's up with her??


	3. return

3rd chap! I have this nagging feeling that Sendoh is getting more and more OOC. *bends head in shame* if that's true, I hope you won't mind it and enjoy the story nonetheless. I think I had some problems getting in touch with Sendoh's character! 

*kicks Sendoh in the butt* 

authoress: Why must you be so hard to get in touch with, you smiley baka!

Sendoh: Huh?

*nothingtodo rages on angrily, chasing Sendoh all the way to South Pole*

Anyway, back to business. 

Patty g: I really AM confusing you, am I? First the Fujima fic and now this one! *drops onto knees* Forgive me, patty-san. I don't know how to explain, so won't. Try reading it again, maybe it'll make sense then? *crosses fingers*

Tensaispira: What's that 'ahem' supposed to mean? *eyes study tensaispira suspiciously*

Jo-sen7: Yeah, I'll make him return A.S.A.P I'm not gonna write without him for the whole 12 months! So you can uncross your fingers, jo-sen! 

Fer-chan: Heh heh, misspelled your name again, didn't I? Sorry! Loved your self-insert there!

Alexia: I'm surprised you laughed through the fic. Pleasantly surprised, that is. : ) My nickname is the result of uncreative-thinking at the time I was signing up. Heh heh. I'm a dumbo at times. But I rather like my nick! And yes, you're having the Maki fic. No one's going to steal it from you. : )

Silhouette Panther: Trust me, SP, I myself don't know what on earth I'm thinking of at times. But you can wait on if you want! Ha ha!

Joy: I am hurrying up all I can with the chappies! Hope you like this one!

Reika Zelon: Yes, I was thinking of pigs and ham when I typed that name out! Ha ha! How can you have hentai thoughts about Porka alleviating her boredom when Sendoh's away? Who's she going to get all cosy with? The horse? : )

SLL: I did make Akira seem cruel, didn't I? I don't know why I did it. I think I felt like giving Sendoh something else to do other than smile away in this fic at that time. Ha ha!

Tiran: Pissed she is. And yes, I'm making Sendoh go away for a year. But he's coming back now, so don't worry. : )

Shirodachi: YOU READ DAVID EDDINGS TOO??? *jumps around excitedly* he's cool, isn't he? Can't resist his sense of humour! Yeah, I got the idea after re-reading the Mallorean for God-knows-how-many-times. : ) You don't read yaoi fics? They're not that bad, some of them. Still, am pleased you like this fic. : )

Fiery Ice: What type of slave? I don't know. The half-slave type? I see that my fics make you rather emotional – and that's a good feeling! Ha ha! *beams at fiery ice* And I love you too. : ) of course, not in 'that' way either. Ha ha ha!

Kka: 'Porka' makes you hungry? I wonder why… ;P

Rei-142: Next chapter dished up! You feel sorry for Porka? I think it's her fault really. I originally wanted to make her ANNOYING, but and I think I did quite well, but everybody else seems to like her. ???

Jo: Not stopping! Read on, Jo!

Lazuli: Inviting… oh yeah. Wonder if he's generous with the invitations, hmm? Nah, I think I'm okay with the name Porka. And yay! Another DAVID EDDINGS fan! You and I and Shirodachi should get together! Ha ha! I really like Ce'Nedra, though sometimes I feel like sticking her head down the toilet bowl. And Kheldar is amazing.

Dreamiegal: Hi, ice1387 (hah! Got the numbers right!!) Congratulations on becoming new member of FF! Looking forward to when you start writing fics!! And yes, your new name IS easy to remember *wink*. Hi there in the Phillippines!

He was returning.

            After eleven months, thirty days and 6 hours 50 minutes, he was _finally_ returning. 

            Porka watched the hustle and bustle of the maids and stable boys as they scurried around preparing for the banquet with an expression of obliviousness. Everyone, in her opinion, was making too much of a fuss about the entire thing. Even Aki was primly dressed up in coat and tie, eagerly waiting at the doorstep of the mansion, shuffling his long, awkward legs restlessly.

            Everybody was so outrageously happy.

            Porka frowned a little at that. She herself hadn't figured out what she personally felt about it. Her master and her did not part on friendly terms the last time they were together, and it was unlikely they'd meet again any other way. Porka had sacrificed a good part of yesterday to figure out an impossibly polite but sarcastic welcome, but couldn't come up with one that delivered her feelings perfectly.

            It was hard to decide who was going to have a worse day, Sendoh or her. But she was sure each would try their very best to irritate the other.

            "Darling," Ayako, the Head Cook, called her, bustling with a huge, three layer cake. "will you please help me?"

            Porka smiled sweetly. "No."

            Ayako placed the cake down and crossed her arms, a posture that made her look more threatening than her favourite paper fan could ever accomplish. "Don't be silly." She ordered crisply, suddenly ballooning up to her full height. "You WILL help me. You WILL do something nice for Sendoh. And you WILL decorate this cake as nicely as you can."

            Porka wasn't easily scared, but Ayako pulled out the worst in her. Still, she rebelled. "And what if I won't?"

            "I'll carve out your belly with this knife here," she held up a huge, butcher's knife, "and roast you up nicely."

            She looked so serious. Porka paled a bit. "You wouldn't."

            "Who's going to stop me?"

            Deciding she'd rather have her belly intact that cooked, Porka grudgingly started labouring over the cake. 

            "Do be a dear and write a nice little message," Ayako told her, going back to her normal nice self. "You know, something like, 'We missed you' or whatever."

            Porka smiled, imaginary devil's horns poking up from her head. "No problem, Ayako," she crooned, her tone sugar-sweet. "No problem at all."

            He wasn't even halfway up the steps leading up to the main door when Aki emerged out of nowhere and jumped on him. Both toppled over and landed butt-first on the brown earth. Sendoh grunted audibly as Aki's full weight rested on him. 

            "You're back!" Aki was blabbering to him. "It's so good to have you back! How was the hunt? Were there many animals? Did you see a tiger?? Did you hunt anything? Did you get anything for me??"

            "I can't breathe," Sendoh wheezed.

            Aki blinked. "Oh." He pulled himself and his brother up. "Well? What have you got to say??"

            Sendoh rubbed his stomach where Aki's knee had landed. "You've put on more than just a few pounds, boy."

            Aki pouted. "That's not what I was hoping to hear."

            "You've grown taller too."

            Aki shook his head. "That's still not it."

            Sendoh grinned. "Look into that trunk over there," he pointed behind him. "You might find some surprises."

            Aki quickly rushed over and was soon screaming in delight. "Leopard's skin! Super! Wah! There's a deerskin too! And look! Here!" His inspection and comments grew more and more elaborate as he dug deeper into the pile.

            "He'll be busy for the next few hours," Ayako commented as she stepped up beside Sendoh.

            "Days," he corrected. "I've got more trunks."

            "Oh dear." Giving the ecstatic young boy a disapproving look, Ayako led Sendoh into a room where dinner was laid out. "Welcome back. It's been a nice hunt, I take it."

            "Very nice," Sendoh agreed, helping himself to a tart. He greeted the other maids and stable boys warmly. Something was missing, but since he couldn't put a finger on it, he shrugged it off and started to tell his story in the past one year. "It was huge," he was saying to the wide-eyed audience. "I've never seen a leopard so big. It was right in front of me, eyes narrowed and mouth agape, teeth glinting –"

            "Here's the cake," Ayako told him.

            "Right," Sendoh absently opened the box. "Luckily, I had a weapon with me, and I just –" he stopped abruptly. "Aah." 

            On the surface of the cake, in bold blue and yellow, were scrawls of greetings. It started nicely enough, saying: _Welcome back_. Then – _How come you're not dead yet?_ There was a nicely drawn picture of a tomb with his name on it.

            Sendoh couldn't stop the smile. _Porka_. 

            Ayako's face was one of unbearable humiliation. "I'm so sorry," she stammered, quickly closing the box to hide the cake from view. "If I had known that troublemaker would –"

            "It's all right," Sendoh dismissed it, digging into his pocket for a fair-sized, glossy pot. "I have a surprise for her too." He bounded off in search, leaving Ayako fussing over the disastrous cake. 

            It wasn't all that hard to find her. Porka had this habit of making as much noise as possible when she moved that echoed through the empty hallways. He found her busily cursing over a book. "Stupid!" she yelled at the object, down on her knees on the floor, her arms ready to fling the book to the other end of the world. "How can you say a ball is square??"

            "I'm sure the book will explain," Sendoh muttered, "if only it could speak."

            Her eyes shot to him angrily. Then, with what that must've caused her a lot of effort, she constructed a smile for him and bowed her head slightly. "Welcome back, _Master_," she said, though her tone indicated she didn't mean a single word. "I've missed you most terribly."

            "I'm sure you did." He smiled sardonically. "You sure went through a lot of trouble over that cake."

            Her eyes lighted. "I knew you'd like it." She stood up and deliberately pulled a pose that will benefit him with the best view of her. His eyes widened noticeably, and he seemed to forget his carefully prepared speech for a moment.

            "You've grown." He murmured.

            It wouldn't have been so insulting if he hadn't sounded so surprised. Porka gritted her teeth. "I have. It's pretty natural among human beings to do so, especially at my age."

            He continued staring at her, and she found she rather liked being under his intense gaze. Then he blinked, and what little signs of admiration on his face disappeared, only to be replaced with a bright smirk. "I have something for you."

            Disappointed at his less than enthusiastic reaction, Porka sighed. "How nice." She received the pot from him and opened it. Peering inside, she saw a flash of green. "What on earth – Aaaaaaaaaargh!"

            "Cute, isn't it?"

            Porka still held the pot, though her hands shook and she kept a clear distance between the pot and her face. "It's a snake!!" she shrieked. "It's a tiny green snake!"

            Sendoh nodded. "Yep. Venomous." He gave her a sly look. "Just like you."

            She was too stunned to speak.

            "Her name's Pork. Named it after you, since you two are so alike." He grinned, apparently very satisfied, and headed out of the room. "Have fun."

            She stood where she was for a couple of minutes before reality sank in. "You can't name her Pork, you idiot!" she screamed. "She's a SNAKE. A REPITILIAN! Not even a lunatic would name her Pork!"

            "Well," came the muffled reply for afar. "That shows I'm not a lunatic." Laughing, he disappeared.

            She was about to go after him with some ideas of educating him to differentiate between mammals and reptilians when Ayako stepped inside, towering over her. Porka gulped.

            _Aah…_

            Ayako regarded her with a cold look, a paper fan resting comfortably in her left hand. Porka desperately returned the look with a smile. "I have nothing to say to you," Ayako told her stiffly. "You have humiliated me beyond repair. Of all the things that you could have done, you had to write such an incredulously stupid message – and a picture too! Not a very flattering one, if I recall correctly. It's a miracle I didn't blow up …"

            _Nothing to say to me. Right._ Porka thought as Ayako went on, paper fan waving dangerously in the air. 

            "… I could have dug myself a grave and planted myself there till the end of time if Master wasn't in a forgiving mood. I tell you, I never –"

            "I'm sorry, Ayako dear." It was the smoothest way to stop her from talking.

            "Sorry?" she scoffed. "Sorry won't fix anything. I will have to punish you."

            Porka sighed. _So what else is new?_ "Sure. What am I to do to please you?" The fact that she didn't look at all guilty aggravated Ayako. 

            Ayako's eyes glinted evilly. "We will be having a party tonight," she informed. "Lots of guests will be coming."

            "To celebrate Master's return?" Porka groaned plaintively. "_Again_? Why is it such a big deal??"

Ayako ignored her. "You will wash tonight's dirty plates."

            Porka refrained herself from frowning. She _hated_ doing the dishes, absolutely loathed it. And washing several hundred dirty plates tonight didn't excite the mind or heart. She had to think of something fast. "Oh, okay. At least it's not sweeping the balcony. I hate sweeping, don't you? Especially at night."

            Ayako's eyes narrowed. "I changed my mind." She said then. "Your punishment is to sweep the balcony tonight."

            Porka feigned a horrified look. "Ayako! How could you??"

            Ayako looked extremely pleased. "That's your punishment." She prepared to walk out and bask in her glory of giving Porka the worst task ever. "By the way, your dress for tonight is over there."

            Porka looked at the material slung carelessly over a chair. "That? _That's_ a dress?? I thought it was a rug." She stared at the supposed rug. "I'm supposed to sweep the balcony wearing _that_??"

            "Why, yes."

            "I'll look ridiculous!"

            Ayako smiled again, though her eyes flashed dangerously, challenging Porka to protest again. "I suppose so. Isn't that just too bad?"

Imagine Porka in a dress. *chortles*


	4. Party

Fourth chap! Thanks for waiting, guys!

Joy: Thanks! Read on and enjoy!

Kka: Yay! Another David Eddings reader! Yep! I've read ROA. But I didn't really understand though. With all the time travelling and such!

Shirodachi: Aaah, me didn't know you and Lazuli are related. : ) Urgit is cute. : ) And it IS Ayako. And she does have a paper fan, don't worry. I didn't know Porka's like Polgara, and I didn't see the connection between the snake and Sadi until you told me! Omigosh! Ha ha! I didn't purposefully chose a snake as the animal. I wanted it to be a cat (cuz I love cats) but who on earth hunts cats and why on earth would cats be in jungles anyway? So snake it was. : )

Silhouette Panther: Thanks!

Alexia: Okay, laugh all you want. : ) And call me ntd-san, if my nickname bothers you so much! Ha ha! Fehrocious calls me that, and I like it!

Fiery Ice: Yes! Sarcasm rules! *Returns fiery-ice's V sign.*

Reika Zelon: If it makes you feel better, make the pink pig in your imagination a female, okay? Ha ha! Sorry, it's my fault you're having such imaginings. But I STILL refuse to change her name!! 

Tensaispira: Have fun. : ) And thanks a lot!

Jo-sen7: I really like it when you take the trouble to copy and paste the parts you like in your review. Thanks a lot!

Unchained: Thanks for tolerating Sendoh's OOC-ness!

Tiran: Thanks!

Frozenfemale: Thanks! Sendoh, bad? Nah, just naughty.

SLL: Hey, Snake-born. I don't really like snakes, and will shamelessly flee for my life is I see one (don't hate me for that!), but I suppose they are fascinating creatures. I was in a playground once (I was about six years old, I think), when a green snake dropped down on me from the tree. I just stared at it and didn't realise what it was until people around me started screaming. Heh heh. Me no rocket scientist. Still, I didn't freak out or pass out. 

Lazuli: Your fave story? Gosh, thanks. I was thinking this story was my worst one among others (I really did! I was depressed at that time, I think) and you telling me this helps a lot! : ) Arigato! (BTW, I was so glad Zakath got Cyradis in the end)

Choco_no_baka: Porka, a tea brand? I didn't know that. And don't ask me why I'm using Porka as a name! I dunno either!

         So it was that Porka spent the hours sweeping the wide balcony outside while lofty guests mingled inside the hall and chattered endlessly, each feeding themselves to the delicacy that was served. The cake Porka had painfully decorated had been carefully hidden – possibly even thrown away.

         Porka was a bit surly about that. 

         _Here I am_, she thought bitterly, _miserably sweeping the blasted floor while everybody else is twirling away in a dance in the middle of the hall_. She stopped sweeping for the tenth time that half-an-hour, and peeked in through a window. _Why is it that everybody gets to have fun and I don't??_

She patted the pot strapped to her dress. "It's just you and me, Pork. A pity you can't dance. And more of a pity that you're female." She lifted the cork and Pork's head came up, its tongue flickering. "No, no, you get back in there. Not all ladies are fond of you, you know, and they might cause a bit of a catastrophe if they see you."

         Pork hissed at her.

         "Don't you hiss at me, you impertinent snake! Who's your master here?"

         Pork lowered herself and sulked. Porka shook her head and muttered irritably, wondering why Sendoh had given her a snake of all the animals in the world. Pork had done nothing but irritate her, even though Porka had to admit that she was getting fond of her new pet.

         Her eyes sought out her own master. Sendoh was tall, but still he was difficult to pinpoint, what with the ladies wearing towering hats that stood a meter above their heads. She located him finally, surrounded by five or six of those towering hats, which sat atop very distinguished ladies, and a couple of other men (one of them was particularly huge with a big, ape-like face). He didn't seem to mind the attention, and Porka narrowed her eyes dangerously when he openly flirted with two of them.        

         Then one tall woman stepped inside the circle, took Sendoh firmly by the hand and led him to the dance floor. Porka watched for a few minutes. Then, resolutely, she looked away and started to sweep the floor again, this time more viciously.

         She peeked again every few minutes, quite unable to help it, and every time she looked, Sendoh was dancing with a different woman. The one who had dragged him to the dance floor in the first place, the tall one, however, remained near and watchful.

         Again, Porka looked firmly away.

         It was midnight by the time she finished sweeping and sat among the white pillars lining the balcony in exhaustion. It wasn't so much the sweeping that drained her energy, but the emotional turbulence she went through. She remembered distinctively a couple of times she felt like punching the wall with her bare fist. Holding that urge down took more energy that pulling three horses out of mud.

         Then the cause of her unstable mood stepped out.

         She watched Sendoh take a breather – _obviously_ tired from all the dancing he did. He surveyed the area and when he saw her, his eyes lighted mischievously. He started to walk towards her. _The nerve!_ Porka raged quietly, even as she turned her back on him. 

He merely stepped in front of her and brought his face to hers. "Would you like to dance?"

_And be another one of your toy?_ "No." she refused without even bothering to be polite.

Instead of the embarrassed outrage she'd expected, Sendoh sighed in relief and plopped down next to her. "Thank God." He smiled charmingly at her. "I hate dancing."

She scoffed. "You seemed to like doing it with all the other ladies."

"It's very rude for a host to reject the wishes of his guests," he shrugged easily, tugging off his shirt from the waistband of his trousers. "They didn't seem to mind the fact that I don't know half the steps."

"They're too busy staring into your eyes to notice," Porka muttered wryly. "Even if you'd stepped on their feet and turned them to pulp, they'd still be smiling at you and asking for another round."

         He narrowed his eyes. "You're looking for another fight?"

         "I'm always looking for another fight," she replied. "You don't even have to ask."

         He tried to come up with something clever to say to that, but was rudely interrupted by a shout from the doorway. "Akira! How long are you going to be out there?"

         It was that tall woman.

         He turned around. "A few minutes, Eri." He told the impatient woman. "I have this little argument I want to settle with this blockhead here." He winked. "Spare me some time, for dignity's sake."

         Eri looked over at Porka and then nodded grudgingly. "Hurry. My favourite song is coming up."

         "I was afraid of that," Sendoh muttered under his breath as she disappeared back inside. 

         "Who's that?" Porka demanded.

         "That? That's Eri. Where did we stop just now?"

         "I know she's Eri. Who is she?"

         He frowned at her. "Can you ask a question that makes sense, at the very least?"

         She glared back at him. "I meant, what does she has to do with you?" She sneered. "Still not understandable? Want me to spell it out for you on paper?"

         "If you know how to spell."

         Her eyes flashed. "I'm not stupid."

         "What a surprise," he grinned when she raised a fist. "Eri's my friend."

         Porka's eyes narrowed unreasonably. "You like her, don't you? I saw you dancing with her a couple of times."

         He looked confused at the question. "Eri? Yeah, of course I like her."

         Porka's lips thinned noticeably. "A _lot_?" She asked darkly, beginning to blow up.

         He raised an eyebrow. "I suppose so." He looked at her blankly. "Why are you looking at me like that? Eri _is_ a nice girl, after all. Smart, successful and beautiful. She's very determined, and she fusses a lot about me, for some reason. Not that I mind. It's nice being fussed around by women sometimes. Why are you gritting your teeth? Where are you going?"

         She was metres away from him, stalking away furiously with the broom trailing behind her. "You're a _jerk_." She hissed and then disappeared around a pillar.         

Sendoh blinked. "What did I say??"

         Aki was waiting for her by her bedroom door, smartly dressed to suit the occasion. Porka smiled as soon as she saw him, genuinely delighted. She liked the boy, and his open admiration for her didn't hurt her ego at all. "Hi, Aki. Why aren't you out there dancing with all those pretty, young ladies? I'm sure they'll be disappointed not to have a chance to charm you."

         Aki blushed, as he usually did with her. "I – I wanted to ask you to dance," he said shyly. He had never gotten rid of that silly shyness, and Porka didn't know if she was irritated or charmed by it. "Do you – do you want to?"

         "Yes, I do." She took his hands. "I was waiting all night for you to ask me."

         His gorgeous blue eyes widened. "Really?"

         _Well, not exactly all night_. "Yes." She answered briefly. "Now, where shall we dance?"

         "The music's loud enough here," he told her excitedly. 

         "Dance here? Okay. Here it is."

         They twirled around in the narrow hallway, having a ball of a time. Aki's hands shook when he placed them around her waist, and Porka found it comical. She didn't laugh, though, which was rather considerate. "You look great," Aki murmured once.

         "In this rug? You've got to be kidding."

         "It's a rug??"

         Porka laughed, fondly mussing the boy's hair. "No. But it looks like it, doesn't it?"

         "No, on you, it doesn't." 

         Porka smiled warmly. "You're such a nice boy. Why don't we go someplace private and you can flatter me some more?" She laughed again when he blushed, quite unaware that she was toying with the boy's feelings. "I was just joking."

         They danced for a few more minutes before they were interrupted. "Aki!" came a familiar screeching voice. "Do you know where Akira is?"

         Aki jumped, startled. Then he gradually relaxed when he realized it was just Eri, the daughter of what's-his-name Duke.  "No, I haven't sorry."

         "Are you sure? I feel like whacking him with a hammer." Eri turned to Porka then. "Do you know where he is?"

         "No." – _and if you don't ask nicely, I'll whack you with a hammer myself._ "Why are you looking for him?"

         "Nothing that concerns you." Eri grumbled loudly. "Where is he?? And to think I'll be marrying him! What will I do if he keeps disappearing like this??"

         Porka had gone suddenly cold up to the neck. She rewound the conversation. "You're going to – you're going to marry him??"

         Eri turned slightly red. "Well, he hasn't asked - yet." She admitted in embarrassment. "But he will." That was said with determination. "He definitely will." She looked around anxiously. "I better go find him before he falls into another shameless woman's arms. He falls very easily."

         As Eri hurried away, Porka turned on Aki. "Is that true? Is Sendoh going to marry her?"

         Aki shrugged, a bit disappointed that all the romance of their dance had disappeared. It took a lot to get there, and having it go so easily made him a bit sullen. "I guess so. She's been making all sorts of plans, most of which I think my brother isn't even aware of. But I suppose he'll just agree. Eri's very demanding."

         Porka pursed her lips grimly. "I noticed."

         "Do you want to dance again?" Aki attempted.

         The look she gave him was absent, even cold, as if the suggestion infuriated her. "No, I don't. Goodnight, Aki." 

         Aki frowned as she closed her bedroom door. What on earth got into her?

         Then the door abruptly opened and Porka poked her head out, suddenly cheerful all over again, though it was with some effort that she kept the smile in place. "I forgot to thank you. You're a terrific dancer, Aki. We should do this more often." She smiled at him.

         Aki felt his heart pounding slightly faster than normal. "Oh, um… well…"

         "Now, as tradition requires," she went on, "you're supposed to kiss me before I go for my slumber." She grinned wickedly. "Will you?"

         Aki froze where he was, his lungs unable to function. "I – I … I, uh –"

         She watched him in amusement. "I don't usually allow physical contact between me and my masters, you know," she teased. "This could be a once in a lifetime chance…"

         Aki found that he couldn't even move. The thought of kissing Porka made his throat go dry in nervousness. He wanted to, but what if it went wrong? He had no experience – not yet, anyway and – 

         "I'm joking," she told him then, chuckling. "You're blushing outrageously. That's so adorable. Well, good night!"

         The door closed and Aki slapped his forehead, cursing himself.


	5. Fight

Updated! And very pleased about it! Enjoy the chapter, everyone! PS: The Eri girl in the last chapter was based on the Eri in one of Slam Dunk's OVA. If you've watched it, you'll know she's the manager of this newly formed basketball team and is awfully rich and fussy. : ) Sorry, forgot to tell you that in the last chapter because I was too concentrated on getting the chapter up. :P

Lazuli: Just reread Redemption of Althalus. Me like Althalus. : ) 

Patty g: Aki x OC? Omigosh, this is the first time someone actually wants me to write an OC x OC!! Ha ha! I'll think about it. Maybe we can cast a vote or something, patty-san? BTW, Porka's chest HAS grown, along with the rest of her. 

Fer-chan: *silently supports Porka as she bashes fer-chan* heh heh. Just one question, why was Porka asking for Miyagi's number?

Alexia: Read on!

Unchained: He he, let's see how you like Porka here in this chap!

Dreamiegal: hallo! Don't worry about reviewing! As long as I know you're enjoying this, it's fine! And lots of people write more than one fic at a time, Karla, so there's nothing impressive about that. :] 

Yoriko: Have fun at the wedding – er, I hope it wasn't YOUR wedding??

Joy: Your waiting's over, Joy-san!

Tensaispira: Thanks, Sinn Yuin! (PS: Am I supposed to keep your name a secret? If I was, then everybody who's reading this who is not tensaispira, please delete the name mentioned from your memory. Arigato)

Frozenfemale: Am continuing!

Shirodachi: Thanks. :D I keep having this image of you going: "I wuv this, I wuv this" in this really cute way. Ha ha! I'm insane.

Fiery-ice: Aki a mini-Akira? Well, they're brothers, aren't they? : ) You can have him, once he gets over his obsession with Porka. Ha ha!

Rei142: Thanks! I appreciate your love for my fics! *grins* 

sLL: Yes, I suppose Pork sleeps in the same room with Porka. Maki and Mitsui posted. (did that make sense?) Hey, *nudge, nudge* tell me, what's your favourite story? Don't be selfish and share good stories with the rest of us. : )

Jo-sen7: *joins Jo-sen7* yeah! Baka Akira! I don't know what I'll do with Aki yet. He's just a kid *smiles fondly*

Silhouette Panther: Find out. : )

Fer-chan: Ka ka ka! Your self-insert made me laugh like a hyena! Imagine Sendoh dancing with Pork *authoress goes into another tirade of laughter.* Arigato!

Reika Zelon: The pig thing is really getting to you, isn't it? *laughs* Sorry, can't help you there. : ) The next part is here!

Babypooh: Am continuing! Thanks!

Tiran: Somehow, everyone's getting fonder of Aki instead of Akira! I must be doing something wrong… anyway, enjoy this chap!

Kka: Eri reminds you of a bull? *tries to see the similarities* ha ha! Which book were you talking about? And what style was the same? Sorry, but I don't understand!

            She glared at him across the breakfast table for the fifth time that minute.

            Sendoh sighed and dropped his spoon noisily on the plate, his appetite deteriorating rapidly. "All right," he muttered, crossing his arms. "What is it?" 

            The glare immediately turned into a smile so bright it scorched him. "I don't know what you're talking about, _Master_, though it wouldn't hurt if you wanted to explain. I'm not as illiterate as youobviously are." Her eyes locked his in a deceivingly warm gaze.

            He wasn't falling for it. "You know what I'm talking about, or else you wouldn't put up that fake sweetness. Answer me."

            "Fake sweetness! Why, _Master_, I object to that term!"         

            "You're changing the subject. Answer me."

            She dropped the pretence and all but snarled at him. "I hate you," she muttered viciously. "You're the most insensitive, stupid piece of a yellow-bellied chicken that I have ever encountered. You go off for _years_, and then come back as if everything was still the same." She slammed a fist on the table. "It's NOT the same, and you're blind not to see that!" She paused, watching his confused face, and then added: "And I don't like Eri!"

            He stared at her, baffled. "Eri? What does Eri has to do with this?"

            "You see? You see how insensitive and oblivious you are to –"

            He raised his white napkin in defeat, burying his face under it and muttering some prayers for strength to get by alive. "You can go on talking," he told her. "I think I'll just lie my head over here and try to die."

            She leaped up to him and grabbed his face. "OPEN YOUR EYES!" she yelled. "AND USE IT! Can't you see that everything's changed?? Can't you see that little embroidery over there? I did that, and I put it there. And what about that cake you're eating?? I made that too. Haven't you realised that I've learnt how to cook and am no longer the little, flat-chested girl you bought ages ago??"

            He narrowed his eyes cunningly. "Ah, so that's what this is all about," he grinned. "You're mad because I'm not paying much attention to you."

            She jerked her hands away. "No way am I mad because of such a –"

            "I think you like me, Porka, underneath it all."

            "What an incredibly dumb thing to –"

            He laughed delightedly. "Maybe if you're not blushing so much, I'll believe you."

            "I'm not blushing!" even though she knew she was beet-red. "You've always been colour-blind and that's hardly my fault! Now get that stupid grin off your face because it's annoying!"

            He shrugged, taking the grin away. Porka tried to find something else to scream about at him, but his sudden withdrawal from the fight left her with nothing to spew over. 

            They sat in stony silence for a while.

            "Are you going to marry Eri?" she asked suddenly and abruptly.

            He blinked in surprise. "Marry? Eri? Why, I never even thought about that." He paused thoughtfully. "Are you suggesting it to me? I might just –"

            She shook her head a little too quickly. "No."

            The grin came back. "I knew it. You _are_ in love with me." He leaned close. "Do _you_ want to marry me?"

            He was making a joke out of it, is it? Porka scowled deeply. "I'd rather bite my head off." Then, turning the game around, she looked at him. "Do _you_ want to marry me?"

            He laughed. "When Earth breaks into two."

            Her eyes narrowed, suddenly insulted. "I can win your heart, Sendoh. You might be surprised."

            His smirk was a little too degrading. "Surprise me." With a look that clearly spoke of how he thought of her statement, he walked away, whistling.

            Porka watched him go, eyes narrowed and brain working. "I believe I will, _Master_." 

Yet another embarrassingly short chapter. But I'll make up to it – someday. Really!


	6. Problems

…. Um, I have nothing to say. Read on!

Fiery-ice: I will gladly slap you b4 you go mental *slap* You okay, fiery ice? Hello?

Rapt142: Whoa. That's a huge statement to make, Rapt142-san. You can live without my fics, I assure you, as long as you have oxygen. ^_^

Patty g: What do you want me to do to Aki? Heh heh heh. We'll see. Sorry if the previous chapter wasn't up to your liking *apologises sincerely*

Unchained: okay, you can see what happens next now. : )

Silhouette Panther: Am continuing.

Tensaispira: Seduction? You think Porka will seduce Sendoh-san??

Joy: Updated! So go on and read!

Jo-sen7: Thanks for waiting!

Frozenfemale: ha ha ha! *watches with amusement as frozenfemale shakes Porka up, and then joins in* yeah, Porka! Don't you know us girls wait for the guys to say it FIRST?? *drags off Porka to be kicked into dating school*

Alexia: 2/3 of the chapter? REALLY? Sorry about that! Tell you what, next time, don't bother about the a/n. Don't even LOOK at it or JUDGE it's length.  Just go straight to the story and you'll be happier. : )

sLL: My fav story is this one about Harry Potter written by van Der girl. She writes the best one liners, I tell you. I wish I could do that. Anywya, if you're a harry potter fan, check it out! It's called 'All I see is red'. And I really wish you'd continue your story. It's only fair that you update just as much as I do, rite?? I really want to know and read what's going to happen. Maybe I should chain you to your computer like how a few people have been threatening to do to me!

Tiran: I'll try to make up for the last chapter with this one, okay?

Lazuli: I hope your sister's okay and normal now. Ha ha ha! 

Fer-chan: How come I never thought of that, eh? Okay! You can give Porka Miyagi's number!

Shirodachi: Ha ha! You caught me by surprise with your squealings. What's there to squeal about, anyway? Still, you can squeal all you want! Ha ha! And just out of curiosity, which one of you's the older one? You or lazuli?

Choco_no_baka: Ha ha! Pokka! I should've used THAT name! 

Reika Zelon: It's her own fault that her secret's out! Ha ha! 

Sen Battousai: Hey, what does your name mean by the way? Happy belated birthday! 

She was cooking up a storm in the kitchen. All sorts of smell wafted from various pots and pans, and smoke billowed, black and sooty. Porka moved busily from one end to another, stirring this and spooning that.

            Ayako watched quietly from the door. "Is something bothering you, Porka?"

            Porka looked up from behind the oven, her nose dotted with black smudges. "No, why?"

            "Because the last time you got worried and all worked up about the dying horse in the stable, you cooked ten different meals that had never existed in this world before. And when Aki broke an arm a few months ago, you made the kitchen explode with a dozen types of muffins. Then when you thought you were dying when all you had was a cold, you destroyed the oven while trying to bake a loaf of bread bigger than your head."

            Porka paused and grinned. "I did, didn't I? Sorry about that."

            "Why are you cooking now?"

            "No reason. I happen to like cooking, didn't you know?"

            Ayako raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "No. I didn't know that."

            "Well, now you do."

            "What's happening here?" Sendoh popped his head in, fully dressed and looking as if he was going somewhere formal. "Porka, are you trying to burn the house down?"

            "No. I already tried that, but it didn't work." She smiled winsomely at him, and almost snarled when he didn't produce a reaction. "Just trying out a few experiments, _Master_. I'll even give you the honour of being one of the first to taste it."

            Sendoh looked at Ayako. "Is it safe?"

            Ayako laughed and walked away. Refusing to be insulted by that, Porka continued her work, though her movements were now more rigid than natural. She decided food poisoning for her loud-mouthed master wouldn't be all that bad, and tried to think of any ingredients that would serve that purpose.

            Sniffing one pot of colourless liquid, she smiled delightedly. Taking a bowl, she spooned some out and turned to Sendoh. "Try it."

            He had been watching her with a kind of amused, laughing eyes. Now however, he stared suspiciously at her. Her eyes grew hard and stony, and he quickly decided he'd better do as he was told before those eyes turned into fire. He suddenly realised how ironic it was that he was scared of his own slave instead of the other way round. "All right. No need to glare your eyeballs out at me."

            She watched him taste it.

            He looked at her impassively for a moment, and then said: "Not bad."

            Porka bristled. _Not bad? NOT BAD??_ "Is that all you can say??"

            "Well," he thought about it, "if this is your idea of making me fall in love with you, then it's not working."

            She gave him one furious glare. "Get away from me," she hissed at him.

            "You wanted me to say something," he reminded her defensively, having trouble keeping his wide grin in check.

            She shoved him aside, took another bowl and poured the liquid inside. "I'll go find Aki." She muttered hotly. "At least he'll have something nice to say." She swept away from the kitchen, stomping all the way and leaving the still-bubbling pots and pans behind her.

            Sendoh chuckled. Then silently, he refilled his bowl and ate ravenously. The girl frequently drove him over the edge, but she's sure a good cook. 

            It went on that way. Porka attempted all sorts of strategies – even going as far as looking for a love potion or something of that kind. And every time, he mercilessly chided her efforts, not laughing openly, but with a clear amusement – which hurt her more than anything else.

            She started to consider the possibilities that her master was gay.

            Eri came sometimes, and he flirted outrageously with _her_, though. As a matter of fact, he seemed to flirt with everybody else except her. Porka thought it was because he was purposefully aggravating her, but after some thinking, she realised it was part of his nature. _That_ was even worse. If flirting was so natural to him that he automatically did it with every living girl, but not with her, then that meant there was something wrong with _her_. 

            On some occasions, she found herself staring at the mirror and looking for flaws. What was wrong with her, anyway? She had grown nicely, filled out in the necessary places. She wasn't exactly downright ugly. Her feet didn't smell. Her ears weren't dirty. What was missing then??

            Every time her carefully prepared plan failed, Porka found herself unconsciously looking for Aki. He somehow turned out to be her ego-restoring agent. His admiration for her contrasted with his brother's scorn, and because of that, he became her solace. Quite often, after a heated argument with the older brother, she would seek Aki out and lavishly shower him with shows of affection to cool herself down. Pampering the boy was her favourite past time.

            She didn't realise, however, that Aki was taking the meaning of her undivided attention quite differently. Sendoh observed the situation one day, and firmly locked Porka and himself in a room for another round of screaming.

            "Stop playing around with his feelings," he told her irritably. "The way you've been acting around him is absolutely disgraceful. He's just a boy, for heaven's sake. Haven't you any consideration for him??"

            Porka hissed right back. "What on earth are you talking about?? I'm doing my job, aren't I? I'm supposed to be his companion, aren't I? And I'm doing exactly that."

            "He's head over heels in love with you."

            Porka stared at him. "Don't be absurd," she laughed. "He's barely fifteen. He doesn't even know what love is. Can you relax?? He's just fond of me, unlike certain people in this house."

            "He _thinks_ it's love, and he's never all that smart enough to begin with. And you flirting with him like that is only going to make things worse."

            "Look, it's up to me what I do with him, okay? And for your information, I don't have those kind of intentions toward your brother. I love him, right enough, but hardly in the way you think I do."

            "Exactly!" he smacked a table to accentuate his point. "That's just it! You don't feel that way, but _he_ thinks you do."

            "Well, that's not my fault."

            "Not your fault? You've been flaunting yourself in his face. Anybody would think you're trying to seduce him."

            She glowered dangerously at him. "I think this is a ridiculously stupid thing to argue about," she told him. "If you don't mind, I have better things to do than stare at your idiotic face." She headed for the door and turned the lock.

            He watched her coolly for a minute. Then, "You know what I think?" he said quietly, but with an edge to his voice. "I think you're frustrated because I don't seem to be falling for you, and you've set your sights on Aki because he's easier and helpless to resist you."

            Porka's eyes flashed. She turned, face dark as a thundercloud. Quite suddenly, she brought her fist out and punched his stomach. He staggered in effect, but remained standing. "You pig!" she screamed. "I may seem like a hooker to you, but I genuinely care for Aki and I'd rather hurl myself over a cliff before any harm came to him! And you accusing me of purposefully manipulating Aki for my own advantage is the lowest one ever!" Her eyes turning alarmingly red, she whirled around and dashed out of the room.

            Her eyes were brimming, her hands itching to cook up another frenzy. _I give up. That brain-damaged hunk of a being is incapable of bestowing the least of affection on me. I'd had more success with a turtle possessing a half-brain than with him._ Hurt and miserable, she went to get supplies from the nearby farmer. Quite a few people bought from him, and when she arrived at his farmstead, there were about six people already waiting and buying. 

            "Have you heard?" a woman was chattering excitedly. "Some strangers came here a few days ago. Rough looking people, I heard, and very fierce too. Created a bit of havoc in the nearby village."

            "What do they want?" another woman asked curiously.

            "How should I know? Maybe they're just drunk or crazy." Her little eyes brightened. "Though I do recall someone telling me that their purpose here is to find somebody. Somebody badly wanted, I'd say. They're looking very, very hard."

            "Who are they, anyway?"

            "I don't know. But the man who sent them is Nakaji – or so I heard."

            Porka quite suddenly froze in the act of picking a potato up. Slowly, almost painfully, she straightened. "Excuse me," she said then, "did I hear you say Nakaji?"

            The two women looked at her. "Why, yes. Do you happen to know him, young girl?"

            Porka paled visibly, blood draining out of her face rapidly. "No, I – I don't. I better – I have to go." She turned on her heels and ran for home.

            The two women stared at each other. "You don't think she's…" The sentence trailed away unfinished.

             Sendoh had been brooding for almost six hours, sitting dully in his room and staring out the window. He'd finished practically six bottles of wine, and the drink settled in his brain like warm, fuzzy cotton. 

            He had done a lot of thinking, and now a headache cheerfully greeted him. 

            Maybe he _had_ gone too far. Perhaps he had been extra spiteful at Porka, but who could blame him? The victim under discussion was his brother, after all. He couldn't just sit there and watch while she expertly wrapped Aki neatly around her finger. 

            He took another bottle and absently started to uncork it. 

            Thinking back on it, Porka did nothing more than smile just a little too often with a slightly overdone hint of flirting. Perhaps it was Aki's doing, after all. Adolescents tend to have weird ideas around that age. Even a careless gift of a dead flower could be mistaken as courting. Sendoh knew that from personal experience.

            He sighed and put back the bottle.

            He had some apologising to do. 

            He trudged wearily to Porka's room and knocked, patiently waiting. After the third knock, he began to get irritated. "Open the door, Porka," he muttered. "You can't sulk forever, and sooner or later you'll have to come out for food anyway."

            He waited.

            "Open the door. I promise I'll drop down on my knees and grovel on the floor for your entertainment."

            Then, swearing lightly, he searched his pockets and found the master key. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, cautiously peering around and expecting an enraged Porka with a knife in hand.

            The room was empty.

            He frowned, blinking furiously. There was a ragged scrap of paper carelessly thrown on the floor, along with money . Making some noises, he bent down and took it.

            **Sorry. Here's your three hundred. If you want the other half, find Inando – Porka.**

            Ironically, his mind started to clear as a sudden suspicion dawned in him. Eyes narrowing into slits, he crossed her bedroom to the closet, and with uncharacteristic fury, flung the wooden drawers open. 

            Empty.

            His lips thinned considerably. 

            Porka had run away.

Hooray! Porka has run away! NOW let's see how Sendoh-san deals with it! 


	7. Um, rescued?

Hora Hora! Seventh chapter! 

Disclaimer: Me don't own Slam Dunk.

Fer-chan: This fic puts you in suspense? Now fer-chan, if it was Chains, then I'd accept it. But I never intended Slave to be suspenseful!

Jennifer: Hello! First time you reviewed, eh? I said hooray because I think Sendoh was a little bit mean to her! Ha ha! But don't worry, I'll work something out between them. *wink*

Frozenfemale: Ha ha! Your last sentence cracked me up!

Fiery-ice: What are you baking now?? 

Shirodachi: You know, you're a champion screamer. You totally beat out Rukawa's cheerleaders! 

Devoted2Mitsui: Is porka nakaji? Sorry? I don't really get that question! Gomen! *gets startled at the change of scene* *sweatdrops* Now, now, let's not get violent, we can, um, settle this um, bye, *scrambles off for her life*

Kka: You are one dangerous person *counts all the knives kka has* I think I'll just go now… *quietly escapes*

Alexia: you'll find out, don't worry. 

Lazuli: Suspense doesn't kill. Screaming does Tell that to your sister! Ha ha!

Unchained: It wasn't a cliffhanger!

Akane: I'll tell you, but you'll have to read. : )

Silhouette Panther: Find out. ^_^

Tensaispira: He he! He'll have to miss out on the food. Porka? Engaged? Married? Well, what can I say?? *scratches head with a good show of innocence and clueless-ness*

Moonglow: Loanshark! Ha ha! That cracked me up, especially with the loanshark craze in Malaysia right now!!

SLL: All my stories ended with problems? I didn't notice that! Ha ha! (PS: I didn't see many dirty HP fics *shrugs* maybe I wasn't alert enough! Ha ha) Porka is a bit thick-headed, isn't she? *looks at Porka and goes: Good! Therefore, you're not a Mary sue!* You will understand what's going on in the next few chapters. Relax!

Jo-sen7: Thank you! And yes! Akira is mean-o!

Tiran: I'm updating! Cool down!

Krappkarmin: Will not stop writing even if you cut off my hands (I'll type with my toes!!)

Leviathan: Porka's not perfect. She's a bit dull, and besides, I think she kind of likes having Aki adore her (because a certain someone wouldn't)

Joy: You think I'm going to tell you everything and spoil the fun?? No way!

Babypooh: Yep, she ran away! And I might join her, I need some exercise!

Patty g: Who can say what Sendoh will do?

Reika Zelon: Congratulations on getting rid of the pig image! I am proud of you! 

Rapt142: No, I don't mind you calling me ntd-san. It's rather charming! When you actually do get some pizza, offer me some, okay?

Joana: He he *devil's horns pop out of her head* I can stop wherever I like, Joana! And you certainly won't like it in this chap!! He he!

Fiery frost: Are you related to fiery-ice? Just curious!

Dreamiegirl: See you in the next review too!

            She had not gone any further than fifty miles when they caught her. Swearing acidly, she glared at the men circling her with big, stupid grins on their faces. They were on their stallions, looking mighty and proud of themselves at the successful capture. Porka suspected she was in for a bad time.

             "Go on and run some more, slave," they mocked her. "We can still give you a chase or two if you feel like it."

            Porka ignored that. 

            "Master Nakaji isn't very pleased with you," they went on. "You're going to be in lots of trouble, slave."

            Since when was she wasn't in any sort of trouble? "Are you going to talk the day away or are you going to get it on and catch me?" she asked coolly. "Quite frankly, your stupid talk is starting to bore me."

            They muttered angry curses at her, and then one of the men jumped down from his saddle and came forward with a rope. Porka watched him calmly, her stare unblinking and slightly intimidating. The man looked suspiciously at her, but continued on. "Come here, slave, we'll get you all tied up –" He stopped abruptly, more in surprise, when Porka pushed in what seemed to be a needle into his cheek. The pain didn't come until a few seconds later.

            Then, he started to scream, dropping to the ground and twitching like crazy with his hands clutching at his face. The others looked on in bafflement; quite unsure what was going on and what was to be done about it.

Porka retrieved the needle she had dipped with Pork's venom (having prepared several – just in case), spared a thought – _Sendoh was right, she is deadly venomous_ – and took advantage of the men's distraction. She rushed to the man-less horse and pulled herself up before kicking the animal into motion.

She was a fair distance away by the time the men stopped yelling at her and started to think of mounting their own horses. As they followed far behind, Porka thought of desperate means and ways to escape. She could go to the nearest town or village, probably, and then jump into the crowd. That should make it harder for them to locate her, or maybe even hide out in an unsuspecting farmer's –

            Suddenly, a piercing whistle sounded in the air, and quite abruptly, the horse Porka was on stopped, answering the call. "What the-" She turned around and saw her previous, previous master not far away, on a huge horse himself. "Oh no."

            Nakaji was grinning stupidly at her. 

            The horse, not following her instructions and angry kicks anymore now galloped back toward its rightful master. Porka toyed with the idea of jumping off and running on foot, but realised they could catch up with her in less than a few seconds.

            She sighed and slumped in defeat as the horse brought her to Nakaji.

            It was definite.

            She was in for a horrible time.

            "GONE??" Aki screeched unceremoniously. "What do you mean, GONE??"

            Sendoh stared dazedly out the window, immobile. "Not here. Unavailable. Vanished. Moved out." He muttered. "And not coming back."

            "WHAT??" Sendoh wished Aki could talk without screaming. "WHY??"

            "I don't know," Sendoh muttered, looking dazedly out the window. "How should I know how a woman's brain works?"

            "It's must be your fault," Aki accused furiously. "You're always screaming and bullying her."

            "Me?" Sendoh whirled around. "Me? Bully her? Scream at her? I'll have you know it's usually the other way round." He turned back to stare with fierce eyes at the grassy lawn.

            "You must've said something to her," Aki continued, furious that his brother was taking it all so calmly. "You must've hurt her feelings." Sendoh's eyes darkened slightly. "You should go and get her back."

            "What for?" Sendoh countered. "She ran away willingly, didn't she? It's her choice, isn't it? If she wants to run, then she can run all the way to the North Pole." He jammed his clenched fists into the pockets of his trousers. "I'm not giving a rat's arse about it." It only made him angrier to know that wasn't quite true.

"But I WANT HER BACK!" Aki yelled, performing yet another tantrum. "I LOVE HER, AND I WANT HER BACK!"

            Sendoh remained silent for a second. Then he turned to face his livid brother.  "You go to your room and rethink that statement," he said slowly but firmly. "It's about time we stop this foolishness. You do not love Porka, and neither does she love you." _She loves me_, he thought briefly, and little defensively. _I'm the one she wants_. "When you've realised that, you can come back out and talk to me like a sensible boy."

            Aki glowered at him. "I hate you!" Then he ran out of the room.

            "Everybody seems to nowadays." Sendoh murmured. He watched Aki go, and for the umpteenth time, turned to the window. Quite casually, he reached for a nearby vase. Without even a slight flicker on his face, he flung the vase and it went flying across the room and shattered when it collided with the wall.

            His maids, who had been anxiously watching him, turned blue at the rare sight of his temper. When his sultry blue eyes gazed stonily around the room for something else to break, they quickly hurried in to remove every pottery and breakables from his view, terrified down to the core. When he gave them a cool look, they quickly went out again, shuddering. 

            "We better stay out of his way for a while," Ayako told the others in the house as she returned from delivering breakfast to Sendoh (which was previously Porka's chore), her face pale and fearful. "He barely slept last night. He's broken every piece of furniture in the room. He might not be able to differentiate between wood and human, and break one of you too."

            All the maids and stable boys looked gravely at her. "That bad?" one of them muttered nervously. "That is so unlike him."

            "That's the thing about cheerful people," one maid said with a shake of the head. "They don't get angry very often that when they actually do, their temper blows out of proportion."

            "What was it that got him so mad?"

            Ayako sighed. "Porka." She informed them as she started to clear the table. "She ran away."

            The maids gasped and started chattering at the same time, demanding why and when and how. "I don't know!" Ayako said exasperatedly. "When I see Porka, I'll ask her!"

            "I still don't get it," one stable boy muttered. "I mean, they're always fighting, aren't they? Shouldn't Sendoh be glad that she's gone?"

            "Well, he's obviously not glad, is he?"

            "Is it because Porka ran away without returning his money?"

            "No," Ayako shook her head. "She did return his money. The exact amount she received from him."

            "Then??" the rest said exasperatedly. "What's the problem??"

            Ayako calmly looked at them, her eyes mysteriously twinkling. "He's about to fall in love with her," she smiled.

            "About to? What do you mean, about to?"

            "He hasn't fallen yet. He seems to be very careful not to." Ayako explained.

            The maids looked at each other, and then suddenly sighed together.

            Ayako raised an eyebrow. "What? You think it's romantic?"

            "No," one answered mournfully. "We've all lost any glimmer of hope to have him for ourselves."

            "But we think it's romantic too, of course," another chirped.

            "Yes," the rest agreed. "Very romantic – in a strange way."

            They sighed again.

            The stable boys looked at each other. "Did you understand that?" one asked.

            "No."

            There was a sudden sharp bang from the top floor. Peering cautiously out of the kitchen, they saw Sendoh coming down the steps. He looked calm and in control enough, but they remained frozen where they were safe behind the kitchen walls. Sendoh's eyes still looked a little bit wild, and he was moving with unnatural stiffness that they decided not to risk approaching him.

            He looked their way, making them jump at being caught spying. "Get me a horse."

            One of the stable boys leaped to his feet and rushed out the kitchen towards the stable, as if a bear was hot on his trails. 

            "Where are you going?" Ayako asked with care, making sure she was quite a distance away from her Master in case he started to throw things again.  

            "I'm going to find Porka," he answered, with a little tightening around his eyes. "I believe she owes me breakfast."

            "I just sent you your breakfast."

            "You did. Thank you. But I want my breakfast delivered by her."

            "But you can't just go and drag her back," Ayako protested, not at all insulted that he preferred Porka to her. "She returned your money, so therefore you're no longer her master."

            "I'll fix that." 

            They watched quietly as he galloped away into the daylight. Ayako released a grin as soon as he disappeared. "You know what I think?" she said to the maids. "I think he's already falling."

            Once again, the maids sighed.

            Porka stared gloomily at the ropes that bound her to one thin but strong pole. She was tied up in the middle of the temporary camp Nakaji's men had set up in the hot scorching sun. Occasionally, she felt nauseous but managed to keep herself from fainting into unconsciousness. 

            Nakaji sat not far away, nicely shaded by a cloth spread over him like a roof, drinking ice-cold water and still giving her that stupid grin of his. "Having fun, Porka?" he asked cheerfully. "Is it as much fun as you had when running away from me?"

            Porka forced a smile. "Almost. But that's okay. You did your best."

            His lips twitched slightly at the perky reply, but he kept the smile in place. "I've barely started, Porka," he informed her. "You can be sure you have more to look forward to." When Porka looked away almost nonchalantly, he threw the glass of water at her. It missed, but she got rather wet. "How dare you!!" he yelled now. "How dare you break the rules of our contract and humiliate me by disappearing right under my nose!! How dare you run away without leaving the slightest compensation for your doing?!"

            "I was pressed for time," Porka explained. "And I didn't have enough money to pay you back." She let out a breath. "And I still don't."

            "Then you'll pay in other ways," Nakaji snarled at her. "In ways you couldn't even begin to think of."

            She looked steadily at him, though her face was rapidly losing colour. "How exciting," she murmured, tone deceivingly calm and dry. "When do we start?"

            Nakaji flung himself out of his seat and took the trouble to raise his hand and slap her across the face. The blow took the breath away from her, and Porka slumped to the side, her cheek throbbing with pain. She hadn't been treated in that way for so long now that she had forgotten just how painful it was.

            No wonder she ran away from Nakaji.

"You impertinent wench!" Nakaji was telling her. "You rude, disgraceful piece of a cow! I bought you for two hundred, and what do you give me in return?? NOTHING but trouble!"

            Porka glared at him. "It was just measly two hundred. You overworked me way beyond that amount, Nakaji."

            "_Master_ Nakaji," he corrected sourly. "Our contract is still on, Porka. You're still mine."

            "Not if I can help it."

            That got her another slap. Porka thought that if she received one more, her head would simply snap off her neck and fall to the ground. When she managed to drag her face up, Nakaji's fist was in the air and aiming for her. He was in mid-swing when he was interrupted.

            "Someone's here to see you, Master."

            Nakaji grunted irritably at the messenger. "What does he want??"

            "I don't know, Master. He wasn't very specific about what he wanted."

            Nakaji turned his attention to the messenger and kicked him in the shins. "Idiot!" he roared. "You should always ask for specifics!!"

            The messenger scurried away, whimpering in pain. Porka almost laughed with helpless sympathy for the pathetic man, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

            Nakaji turned back to Porka. "Where did we stop?" he asked. "I believe I was in the middle of doing something very interesting before that fool came along." He raised his fist again. "Ah yes, I was just about to –"

            "He says you have something that belongs to him, Master, and he wants it back." The messenger reported hastily as he rushed back in.

            Nakaji glared at him. "What a nuisance! Why didn't you shoo him away??"

            "He had a rifle, Master," the messenger informed, shaking at the memory, "and it was pointed right at my forehead."

            "You useless dung!" Nakaji gave him another kick. "I'll shoot you myself! Call that annoying man in and I'll deal with him!" The messenger went away again.

            Nakaji spat a huge amount of saliva to the ground. "I'll finish with you later," he muttered, grabbing Porka's chin and lifting it so they were eye-to-eye. "And you can be sure I won't be as gentle as I was this time."

            Porka was about to follow his example and spit in his face when the messenger came back. "He's here, Master."

Both turned, and Porka's eyes all but dropped out of their little sockets. "Sendoh!"

            He was looking at her intently, his eyes catching in every bruise – big or small – on her face, her arms and the rest of her body. When he saw her bleeding lips and swollen cheeks, his eyes narrowed.

            "What do you want?" Nakaji demanded crudely, striving to stand as tall and as erect. "Who do you think you are ordering around wanting to see me?"

            Sendoh turned his attentions. "Did you do that?" he asked a little too quietly, cocking his head at the battered and weary Porka, who continued gaping in disbelief.

            Nakaji drew himself up. "So what? None of your business."

            Sendoh stared at the man before him.

            Then, quite suddenly, his fist flew out and he slammed Nakaji in the face.

Wahoo! Imagine Sendoh punching someone! *droolz*


	8. Explanation

Someone by the name of 2lazy2think actually e-mailed me and yelled for me to "UPDATE, for heaven's sake!" because she/he couldn't bear the suspense. Whoa! Now, now, no need to get heated! The chapter's here! May it lessen the suspense (I still insist that this ISN'T a suspenseful story!)

Unchained: Me a cheerful person too, so I share Sendoh's temper! Ha ha!

White Meteor: 'About time Sendoh took action'? Whoa, I was kind of expecting reviews to be like: Sendoh? Punch? That's OOC! But you seem to be expecting violence! Ha ha!

Electric muffin: Sendoh and Porka sitting on a tree… KISSING….

Alexia: I forgot about Sendoh's rifle!!! *slaps own self* Never mind. Let's forget that the weapon existed! Ha ha! Me watched Two towers too and me liked it!

Akane: Continuing!

Fer-chan: It must be bad indigestion. ^_^ 

Reika zelon: nakaji's pissed because of a bit of both reasons you presented. Very accurate, reika-san! 

Mystika: Thank you. I am very happy that you like this story. ^_^ 

Evil Within: I agree!

Tensaispira: *joins in* Yeah! Woo hoo!

Sll: Thanks! Keep on readinf sLL-san!

Metallic gene: Thank you!

Fiery-ice: I'm not going to tell you any answers. You're gonna have to read!

Jo: You're Joy, right? Next chapter's up!

Kkk: really? You've heard of 'Nakaji'? Darn, and I thought I created it! I hope it's not connected with animals!

Silver Leviathan: Aki's just a boy. I think he's cute. He he. 

Tiran: I like it myself when calm, cheerful and cool characters flash their violent side! He he! Makes them all the more surprising and sexy!

Jo-sen7: Be thankful you're not Porka, because if you gladly died, then you won't be able to find out what this chapter's about!

r-yan: Thank you. And no, I will not change Porka's name. I remain unmoved and stubborn about it! Relax. Once you get used to the name, it'll actually sound cute! Ha ha!

Patty g: Would you like some pom poms to rival Rukawa's shinetai?

Silhouette Panther: He he. Read on!

Joy: Thanks for reading! Me glad you like the turn of events (there was a turn? Where?)

Crazy4u: Make you drool? Me? Nah, I leave it to the SD boys to do that. Nah, only Aki's name's similar to ayashi no ceres. I won't be writing any more fics, sorry. School's starting *wails* but I promise if I ever do, I'll try to make it Kogure X OC and dedicate it to you, okay?

            Everybody gasped in shock at the attack and quickly cowed back a metre or so. Porka's eyes were wide and her face was pale. However, a smile was playing across her lips as she stared at the gurgling Nakaji who was on his knees clutching his face.

            "Who…" Nakaji stammered, still trying to get in terms with the throbbing pain. "Who are you?? How dare you come here and –" he attempted a punch, but sorely missed as his vision wasn't quite all that clear yet.

            Sendoh crouched down until they were face to face. "I'll have you know I don't appreciate people who cannot treat others with the least bit of respect," he said slowly. "If I evspect," he said slowly. "If I evperson, you'll get much more than a punch in the face. Now, I believe I'll relieve you of that burden over there," he jerked his head in Porka's direction, "and take her with me."

            "Why, you –" Words couldn't describe quite enough what Nakaji felt then. Feeling a bullet in the head would be just fine to convey his message, he roared at his men to fight. "Kill him! I want his head!"

            "What do you want to do with my head?" Sendoh muttered in amusement. "I know it's a very pretty one, but I don't think it'll make a suitable wall ornament."

            "Kill him! Kill him!"

            Sendoh glanced once at the advancing men and then sighed. "This man mistreats you and puts you down beyond your worth, and you still defend him?" he said a bit sympathetically. "Either you're absolutely loyal by heart, or incredibly stupid by nature."

            A look of doubt crossed the faces of Nakaji's servants and slaves. They stopped suddenly as the words sank in their minds and looked at each other.

            "I don't know about you," Sendoh continued gaily, smiling now as he untied Porka from the pole. "But if it were me, I'd have kicked my unfair master in the butt, especially since I've got quite a number to kick along with me."

            They pursed their lips.

            "Think about it. I'm sure sooner or later you'll see it my way."

            Nakaji's face was turning horribly pale, and he started lashing out orders in desperation. His men and slaves however, ignored him, and instead stared at him with speculative looks on their faces, looks that said they had unpleasant things in mind for him. Nakaji yelped once, and quickly scrambled to his feet before jumping onto his horse and galloping away. 

            "Well then," Sendoh said brightly as they watched the man and horse disappear. "I suppose you're all free."

            "Not yet," one of them said seriously. "But we will be once we burn our contracts." Then all of them scrambled away to find their contracts and destroy it.

            Porka, freed now, unabashedly threw her arms around her saviour. "You are so great!" she squealed delightedly, the image of Nakaji running for his life playing over and over again in her mind. "That was just a fantastic thing to do! First time I ever saw Nakaji running," she beamed proudly at him. "Have I ever told you how wonderful you are?"

            He gave her a wry smile. "No, the only words I was privileged enough to get from you were bull-head, yellow-bellied chicken, idiot – just to name a few." He put on a serious face. "You've got some explaining to do."

            "Oh, hush. Let me just celebrate for a little while before you spoil it, all right?"

            "Explain, Porka."

            She sighed at him. "Spoilsport," she muttered, taking a step back to break the intimacy. "Nakaji was my fifth master, before Inando. I … kind of ran away from him – without returning his money, you see, and Nakaji is one man who does not forget people in debt. He almost caught me a few months back in Talak, but I managed to escape." She paused. "However, several people got killed in the process and the entire village was burned down to the ground –" her voice hitched. "Nakaji's men aren't very patient people, as we all know by now."

            "Who was it?"

            Porka raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

            "You lost someone in that fire," he explained briefly. "Someone you care about, it seems. It's obvious from the look on your face."

            She stared at him and then coughed uncomfortably. "Well, no, he wasn't – well, he wasn't related to me or anything – we didn't … we didn't –" she took a deep breath. "He was five-years-old." She began again, steadier now. "Onra – that's his name. We were stopping at the village –  Inando used to stop at every village we came upon – and he wanted to buy me." She suddenly smiled. "He only had a flower to offer. You don't make business with flowers, so both Inando and I rejected it. But he kept on coming around and we… we became friends." Her smile widened fondly. "He was just so cute. It's not like I don't have other friends," she said hastily then. "But sometimes one person could mean a lot more to you than others. And then Nakaji's men came," he face darkened. "I was sleeping over at his house – his mother's a terrific woman – and Nakaji's men found out and – well, they put the house on fire."

            Sendoh could picture it pretty well. He'd seen a few of those incidents happen.

            "He was in the bathroom," Porka continued. "And we couldn't save him and he just …" she trailed off, looked as if she was about to break down but then quickly brightened up, apparently practiced at it. "Well, you'd know what happened to him."

            "I guess I do."

            "So when I heard they were in this area, I had no choice but to leave." She looked apologetically at him. "Aki kind of reminded me of Onra. I didn't want history to repeat itself." She grinned. "And you have such a nice house, I didn't want it to turn into ashes."

            He almost laughed. "You're worried about the house?? What about the people _in_ the house?"

            "I was worried about the people in the house too, of course." She assured. "Aki, Ayako, everybody else…" She gave him a pointed look. "And you, though I suppose you already know that."

            He didn't reply. "Let's go back home."

            She stayed where she was. "I'll remind you that I've returned your money, and that therefore, I'm no longer part of your property. Thanks a lot for chasing Nakaji away. It's been nice working for you, Sendoh."

            He looked at her. "Akira." He corrected almost absently. "I'll buy you out."

            Porka's eyes widened in surprise and bafflement. "Why, Sen– Akira," she murmured. "You were supposed to jump in joy and run off to Eri's place and drag her off to be married. Why do you want to buy me again?" Her mind clicked. "I see. Aki wants me back."

            "He's not the only one."

            Porka smiled ruefully. "Oh, I bet," she said. "I just bet Ayako couldn't wait to get her hands on me and scold me to death."

            Sendoh slapped his forehead and groaned.

            Porka didn't understand what that was supposed to mean, but shrugged it off. "I'm sorry," she said then, very, very firmly. "But I've decided I couldn't possibly come back."

            His eyes snapped to hers. "Why not?"

            "There's a problem between you and me," she explained plaintively, surprised that he asked. "I'm blindly in love with you, and you're not, and it's like banging my hand against the wall. _Your _wall. It's a bit tough being under the same roof with you now, so unless one of us moves out, nothing'll change." She gave him a pat on the shoulder. "And since the house is yours, its unlikely you're the one to move away. So I'm taking the honour of doing it."

            His fingers curled around her wrist. "I want you to come back too."

            She smiled at him. "That's a nice attempt," she congratulated him. "But we both know you don't have any feelings for me – you made it quite clear several times, as a matter of fact – and you don't have to pretend you do just because Aki –"

            He simply cut her off. Before she knew what hit her, she was clutching at the front of his shirt with her fists, her mouth under his. He lingered there long enough to take her breath away from her and then pulled back slightly. "Does that in any way convince you?"

            She shook her head to get rid of the haze in her brain. "Of what?"

            He smiled pleasantly. "I didn't know it myself," he said then. "Didn't want to know it, actually. But when you disappeared just like that, it kind of hit me right in the stomach." He looked down at her. "I broke my favourite blue vase when I couldn't stop thinking – and worrying – and cursing – about you."

            "That huge, gorgeous one? The one you refused to let me touch and vowed to protect with your life?" She couldn't stop the beaming smile. "Why, Akira. I'm shocked."

            "I don't know when it happened," he continued, "or how, but I'm in love with you, and I guess there's no changing that."

            "Say that again."

            "I'm in love with you, and there's no changing that."

            She released a blissful sigh. "I wouldn't doubt the number of girls whom you have swooned with that statement."

            He thought about it. "Not many," he confessed. "Including you, there was only one person that I've ever said that to before."

            For some reason, that sounded even better. "I'm convinced," she declared, touching her lips to his. "And I love you too."

            "I know," he grinned. "Name your price."

            The look she gave him was mischievous and he unconsciously gripped his purse. "Well," she started, deceivingly light-hearted and warm. "Since I matter so much to you, I'm guessing you'll pay any amount for me."

            _What a dangerous statement_. Sendoh gulped. "Yes, I will." His face grew pained. "As long as my wallet can stretch."

            "To make me your slave again, you'll have to –"

            He held up a hand. "Hold on. I want to add another contract to that."

            She raised an eyebrow. "Your wallet's going to stretch even more." She mused in amusement. "What sort of other contract?"

            The look he gave her was peculiar. "A marriage contract," he said slowly. "A permanent one."

            He watched Porka react, how her eyes widened and her jaw fall. How an unidentified sound erupted from her throat and how her hand groped around for balance. "Oh my," she murmured quietly, her heart swelling like a full-blown balloon. "Oh my." She lowered her head for a moment, allowed the tears to fall before hastily wiping them away. She looked back up with a cheery and undoubtedly soft expression. "That's going to cost you dearly."

            He gripped his purse again, and then laughing quietly at himself, released it. "I'm willing to match up to it." He assured. "What are you going to cost me, Porka?"

            "Endurance. And whole platoons of patience."

            The smile spread. "I think I can manage that."

             "Good." 

ATTENTION! *nothingtodo furiously waves her arms in the air* ATTENTION!!

This is NOT the last chapter. 

Sendoh (or shall I say, Akira?) still has one more enemy to go head-to-head with: AKI!! ^_^ 


	9. Shut up and Listen, Aki

Last chapter, as you all probably know. ENJOY!!

Sendoh lover: Continued!

Crazy4u: Me sekolah menengah gurl too. Only 15 la… young still ^_^ But I'm in Form 5. : (

White Meteor: Kill each other? WHAT an excellent idea! ^_^ But nah…

Unchained: Yeah, and am updating now! Sorry about the corniness! *whacks own head* The conversation just kind of flew out of my head, and I thought, what the heck, I'm late, they're angry, just get this chapter up!!

Tensaispira: Nyahahaha! Watch out for it!

Fiery-ice: Thank you! You're one GREAT supporter, fiery-chan!

Lanie: ALL AT ONE GO?? And you're still alive? Whoa… Thank you! And thank the person who recommended me… heh heh, free ad!!

Zackire: Thank you! That was a HUGE compliment. ^_^

Wintry evolution: Updated!

Akane: Updated!

Frozenfemale: School's terrible. Aiyah. Anyway, welcome back to school!

Krappkarmin: Last combat screening!

Alexia: LEGOLAS IS SO COOL! I AGREE! But I dun like Ewoyn or however you spell her name. LEAVE ARAGORN ALONE! Eheheheh! 

Reika Zelon: Am writing! Check this chapter out!

Silhouette Panther: …. – bang - …. – bang -… uh, okay… - bang - … you can stop now…

Kka: I like nakajima!! He's so pathetically cute!! 

Fer-chan: Stretched wallet kinda reminds me of my own state of wallet. *sighs*

Patty g: Ending up with proposals is one good way of getting away when you have no creative juice oozing! I'm sorry if the ending is too commonplace! Gomen!

            Aki's blue eyes were flashing. He glared at his brother. "So THIS is why you were so prickled over my being in love with her," he accused angrily. "You wanted her all for herself!"

            "You're not in love with her, Aki," Sendoh murmured patiently, rubbing his temples. "You love her, yes, but you're not in love with her."

            Aki stomped his right foot. "What difference does it make??"

            "A whole lot of difference," his older brother assured, a sudden idea coming into his spiky head. "You see, in this world, there are two kinds of love. One is love love, one is love affection. Yours is love affection, where you care about that certain person on a general basis."

            Aki pouted, not understanding but not willing to admit it either. "No, mine is love love."

            "Do you know what love love is?"

            "Of course!" Aki's face changed then. "No."

            "Love love is where you care about that person on a more intimate basis."

            Aki scratched his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

            "A boundless relationship. Where you can do anything to the other person and vice versa." Sendoh leaned down to his ear then. "You know the sounds the maids downstairs produce when one of the stable boys magically creep into their bedroom?"

            Aki's face turned ghost pale. "You mean, all those screams and unidentified sounds like a whale belching?"

            "Do you know what's really happening in there?"

            "Torture."

            Sendoh nodded. "Very true. When you're in love love, it's all a torture. You know, Porka? She's a very good torturer. You don't want her to lock the two of you in one room and drag you off to bed all alone, do you??"

            Aki gulped. "No."

            "She will do very weird things to you – that's what people who are in love love do most of the time. Her hands won't stop touching you, and she'll be licking you from head to toe."

            Aki looked as though he wanted to puke. Cautiously, he peered at his brother. "Aren't you afraid she'd do those stuff to you?" he asked anxiously.

            "No." _Because I'll be doing the same stuff to her. "Because I'm in love love with her." He smirked. "Are YOU in love love with her?"_

            Aki quickly shook his head. "No! No! I'm just in love affection with her."

            "Now, Aki," Sendoh said then in a reasonable tone "Be truthful. If you wanted to marry Porka, you know I'll step back any time and let –"

            "NO! NO! I don't want to marry anyone! NO!" Even the very thought of it seemed to traumatise him. 

            _You won't be saying that in the next five years, brother. Sendoh grinned, very pleased with the outcome. "Well…" he said, feigning reluctance, "if you really don't mind me having Porka …"_

            "I don't mind! I don't mind!"

            "Well… since you insist…"

            "I insist! I insist!"

            Sendoh gave a hearty slap on Aki's back. "It's a deal!"

            When they went out of the room, Porka was waiting, arms crossed. She looked surprised. "Why, I was expecting it to go on for another half-an-hour at least." She gave her husband-to-be a pointed look. "Well?"

            He smiled at her. "We worked it out," he looked at his brother. "Didn't we, Aki?"

            Aki was staring at Porka as if she was a three-legged horse. "Y-Yes."

            Porka smiled easily (not at all suspicious) and bent down to kiss the young boy's cheek. Aki paled. "Don't misunderstand, Aki," she said soothingly. "I love you just as much as I love your brother, but –"

            "NOOOOOOO!" Aki screeched, running down the hallway.

            Porka blinked at the sudden empty air in front of her. Aki was still running like a lunatic down the hallway, and then he turned, and still screaming, disappeared down another corridor. Porka gave Sendoh a questioning look. "What was that all about??"

            Sendoh looked suitably surprised. "I don't know," he said innocently. "Aki's a bit weird."

            Porka narrowed her eyes. "What did you say to him?"

            "I believe your, uh, dressmaker is here. Why don't you –"

            "What did you say to him?"

            "Oh, look! There's the flower girl too! I think we should both –"

            "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM??"

            Sendoh gave up his diversion efforts and flashed a grin. "I'll tell you," he promised. "Right after our first night together."

            Porka looked as though she was to flare up, but then stopped and flushed. "I'll go see the dressmaker."

            "Wait, I haven't finished yet. Don't you want to know the details??"

            "The flower girl's waiting for me."

            He watched her disappear with astonishing speed and then laughed. "I'm waiting for you too!" he called out cheekily. And then in a softer tone: "I guess I always will." 

            Then another dirty story as sharp is his hair emerged and he went in search for Aki.

            Akira Sendoh's wedding vow:

            I promise to cherish my wife till the end of time. 

            I will make her happy by abiding to her delicate and well-meant requests.

            When I come home, I will kiss her and say: 'I missed you'.

            When I eat her food, I will compliment her and praise her for her culinary skills.

            When I go away for weeks, I will write a letter everyday.

            When I go away for months, I will take her with me.

            When I am at a party, I will not flirt with any other woman than my wife.

            When I take her to bed, I will -------- [Sendoh: What happened?? Porka, why did you erase it???]

            Even when I am old and wrinkly and walking on a stick, I will still cherish her and love her as I do and always will. I am her voluntary slave, here, now and future, as I was meant to be ever since I bought her and as I will continue to be now that I'm married to her.

            May everybody and Aki bless our union.

            And may Aki bless it still even after he discovers the truth!

Pretty short, but it's supposed to be some sort of an epilogue, so I guess it's okay. ^_^ Hope it made sense!!


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